Category: Latin America: Week in Review

U.S. Sends Diplomat to ‘Assess’ Haiti’s Troubled Election

Top Story — The U.S. State Department’s coordinator for Haiti, Kenneth Merten, arrived in Port-au-Prince Thursday “to assess progress” in the country’s troubled presidential election, a phrasing meant to avoid […] Read More >

Venezuelans Protest Amid Shortened Workweek, Worsening Food Crisis

Top Story — Venezuelans across the country protested on Tuesday night, lighting fires and looting stores for food in response to new energy-saving measures that will shorten the workweek of […] Read More >

After Transforming Church’s Role in Cuba, Longtime Havana Cardinal Steps Down

Top Story — Cardinal Jamie Ortega, the longtime leader of the Catholic Church in Cuba and a key player in the clandestine negotiations that resulted in resumed diplomatic relations between […] Read More >

Brazil’s Opposition Party Split on Decision to Support New Interim Government

Top Story — Looking ahead to a 2018 presidential run, Brazil’s largest opposition party is split on the degree to which they will support a provisional government in the likely […] Read More >

Report Accuses Mexican Police of Torturing Suspects in Ayotzinapa Case

Top Story — Mexican police tortured key suspects in the case of the 43 students who went missing in September 2014 in Mexico’s Guerrero state, according to the final report […] Read More >

Ecuador Earthquake Reveals Political Fractures

Top Story — Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office on Thursday announced that the death toll from a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Saturday has reached at least 587. Although the government has set […] Read More >

El Salvador Unveils New Gang Unit for Rural Areas

Top Story — The government of El Salvador has dispatched 1,000 soldiers and police officers to the countryside to combat gangs, reflecting a recent shift in gang activity away from […] Read More >

At UN Drug Summit, Mexican President Peña Nieto Announces Legalization of Medical Marijuana

Top Story — At the first United Nations special session to bring together world leaders to discuss global drug policy in 20 years, Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto called for more […] Read More >

Defiant, Rousseff Hopes For a Potential Ally in Senate Leader

Top Story — Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff on Monday spoke out against the decision the night before by the lower house of Congress to proceed with her impeachment, vowing to […] Read More >

Ecuador Begins Relief Efforts Following Deadly 7.8-Magnitude Earthquake

Top Story — Residents of rural Ecuadorian towns west of Quito are reeling following the country’s most devastating earthquake in 40 years. The 7.8-magnitude quake struck Saturday night near the […] Read More >